ORANG Asli in Kuala Langat, Selangor, said they have documented proof of their land ownership in the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve, where the state government is planning to degazette 930ha for mixed-development projects.

Rahman Pahat, the headman or tok batin of Kg Pulau Kempas, Kg Bukit Cheeding and Kg Bukit Kechil Rahman Pahat, said the Temuan tribe have documents, including a copy of a government gazette in 1927, which shows that the land is theirs.

However, the district office told the villagers that part of their land overlaps with state-owned land.

Rahman said according to the document signed during British Malaya, 7,200ha within the Kuala Langat and Tg Dua Belas districts were awarded to the Orang Asli by the state’s then ruler, Sultan Abdul Samad Tengku Abdullah.

“According to the history of the matter, one of our ancestors, whom we call Pak Pelangi, was appointed by the palace as a commander in the sultan’s guard. The land was awarded to the Orang Asli in recognition of his service.

“There is historical information on this, but all I see is that the Orang Asli are still oppressed from then till now,” Rahman, 42, told The Malaysian Insight during a visit to the forest reserve yesterday.

He said the Department of Orang Asli Development (Jakoa) also acknowledged the land as being owned by the Orang Asli in Kuala Langat.

Rahman said the villagers are perplexed as to why the district office refuses to acknowledge the boundaries belonging to the Orang Asli as stated in the document.

“When we asked the district office and showed them our documents, they just said there is an overlap with land owned by the state government. We don’t understand how this could happen.”

He said even before the news about the plans to degazette the land, the Kuala Langat Orang Asli had lodged complaints with the Selangor Menteri Besar’s Office several times over the district office’s response to their document of ownership, to which no response has been forthcoming.

The proposal to degazette the land came to light on February 5, when the Selangor Forestry Department placed a notice in a newspaper inviting stakeholders in the Kuala Langat district to voice their objections to the proposal within 30 days.

By state law, public opinion must be sought before any exercise to degazette a forest reserve.

Environmentalists have warned that the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve, as a peat swamp and low-land forest, was important to preserve for its biodiversity and climate-control function, as peatland absorbs and stores carbon.

They also said that degazetting the forest is contrary to the the Selangor Structure Plan 2035 to maintain 32% of land as forest reserves.

‘We will lose everything’

The forest reserve in question borders the Elite Highway and is near Cyberjaya.

Rahman said villagers from all three settlements and others in the area, namely, Kg Bukit Busut Baru, Kg Bukit Prah and Kg Bukit Kechil, all depend on the forest reserve for survival.

“If they degazette the forest and clear it, there will be nothing left. This is the only forest left in the area.”

For the Orang Asli community in Kg Bukit Busut Baru, losing the forest will renew the trauma of being forced to move from their previous village where the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang now sits.

Village management and community council (MPKK) chairman Shamsul Senin said the hurt of being forced off their land for the airport still affected them.

They were moved to the Kuala Langat Forest Reserve, the last patch of forest suitable for the Orang Asli way of life. 

If it were to be degazetted, Shamsul said the 400 residents in his village would lose their land and their identities as Orang Asli.

Rahman, showing a map of the area and villages, said all the Orang Asli settlements would be affected if the process proceeded.

“The entire forest isn’t big to begin with, and out of its 1,095ha, they want to degazette 930ha. That is almost everything that will be developed,” he said.

Uniting the tribes

Rahman vowed that the Kuala Langat Orang Asli will fight the proposed degazette of the forest till the end. He said 15 villagers in the Kuala Langat district, including other tribes, such as the Mah Meri, have agreed to challenge the state government over the matter.

They will start by sending a protest memorandum to the Selangor menteri besar next Wednesday.

“Even Orang Asli from other tribes have agreed to join us. They are making a stand for the sake of all Orang Asli.”

Shamsul, meanwhile, repeatedly stated his disappointment with the Selangor government.

“If they go ahead with it, it means they just want to destroy our way of life entirely. The forest is our identity. What would we be without the forest?

“They said this forest has no valuable trees but if you look for yourself, there are many endangered species that will be lost if this area is developed.

“The future generations of Orang Asli will not know the forest, will not know this way of life, if it is all developed.” – February 20, 2020.